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In August of 2017, I and a few friends went rock climbing at Squamish, British Columbia, with another old friend who hadn’t been getting out much recently. I’d first climbed with this friend nearly thirty years ago, and we’d had a few great, spur-of-the-moment adventures together in the BC Coast Range and the Cascades. Although we both continued to climb extensively—he more than I—we hadn’t climbed together in the last twenty years.

We went to a crag that would be readily accessible and easy to toprope. My old friend was tentative—to the point that he wasn’t sure he even wanted to put on his harness or rock shoes. So we just let him watch and think while the rest of us gave various climbs a try.

I think that seeing our enjoyment on the rock-inspired him, and after an hour or so, he worked up the gumption to gear up and be ready. For a while, he continued to sit in his wheelchair and look at the rock, as if wondering whether it would be worth it to try something that would have felt simple when he was in better shape, but might seem extremely difficult now, when he was no longer sure that his body would rise to the challenge.

Eventually, he announced that he wanted to give it a shot. With the rope tied into his harness and his rock shoes on, supported by two people, he managed to amble the fifteen feet to the base of a crack and start climbing up the clean, warm granite cliff. I belayed him, while the others gave a helping hand and pointed out holds and places to put his feet. His gnarled hands remembered how to grip the rock and use the constrictions in the crack to hoist himself up. But I kept a tight belay, cheating a bit by pulling him up with the rope as much as I could. I wanted the experience to be positive for him.

He climbed up about five or six feet on that first go, before saying he’d had enough and going back to his wheelchair to rest. We were all a bit disappointed because we could sense his frustration as he groused about not feeling better. But we were enjoying the perfect afternoon and we climbed some more while he watched.

To my surprise and admiration, he decided to give it another try. So, I belayed him again and kept it tight while the others assisted, once more, pointing out the holds and even placing his feet so they wouldn’t slip. This time, he struggled up about ten feet, impressing us all before his muscles lost their energy, and I lowered him to the ground.

My friend turned ninety-four years old earlier that year. He passed away less than three months later. He was my mentor at times, and an idol of sorts. By being able to observe his dedication to climbing until near the end of his life, he gave me the gift of knowing that adventure is always possible and should be pursued—because it gives purpose to your life and relationships and others will want to be a part of it.

He was Fred Beckey, and I’m glad to have known him.

Fred Beckey was born in 1923 in Germany, but his family moved to Seattle in 1925. It’s there, as well as the mountains of the world, that he called home until his death in 2017. He became a climber through the Boy Scouts and began exploring the Cascade and Olympic mountains of Washington State as a teenager. At the age of 16, he made the first ascent of Mt. Despair in 1939. Still a teenager, he and his younger brother put the North American mountaineering community on notice when they made the second ascent of Mt. Waddington in the remote British Columbia Coast Range in 1941. He logged hundreds more first ascents throughout his life

Despite climbing being the central focus of his life, he never worked as a guide or instructor. He received a college degree in 1949 and made a living doing odd jobs, writing projects, and writing mountaineering guidebooks for the Cascade Mountain range in Washington State—the bibles for any aspiring or experienced mountaineer in the state. In the process, he became an expert on geology and a true historian. He authored more than a dozen books and contributed hundreds of reports to the American Alpine Journal and Canadian Alpine Journal. He was well known to his climbing partners for having a gruff, irascible personality with an unmatched focus. He continued to climb and ski until months before his death of natural causes at the age of 94. Fred is the subject of the documentary Dirtbag: the Legend of Fred Beckey.

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Aug 24, 2019

Rhiannan Reigns Supreme: Red Bull Cliff Diving

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It’s official, Rhiannan Iffland is the greatest living female cliff diver on the planet. Minutes ago, she soared from atop the world-famous Mostar Bridge in Bosnia and Herzegovina and landed over 21 meters below with a perfect score.

Undefeated in 2019, Rhiannan has won all seven stops on the Red Bull World Series this year, from El Nido, Palawan to the final stop in Bilbao, Spain. Although today’s competition was the second to last stop on tour, Rhiannan seized her grip on the King Kahekili trophy, her fourth in a row, with an even 1,000 points accumulated over each stop.

The Stari Most is a rebuilt 16th-century Ottoman bridge in the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina that crosses the river Neretva and connects the two parts of the city.

In addition to her seven straight victories, Rhiannan also achieved the first-ever perfect score for a female athlete on her final dive today – four 10’s – which added up to the highest ever competition score for a female athlete.

“To finish on four tens, I’m still pinching myself,” Rhiannan shared in her post-dive interview with Red Bull.

Rhiannan comes up all smiles after she lands a dive on day one of competition.

With her first win at Mostar today, a UNESCO heritage site, Rhiannan can now claim dominance at every stop on tour.

Since entering her first Red Bull competition as a wild card in 2016, Rhiannan has been an absolute force. With this win, Rhiannan proved that she can perform when the pressure is on as well as when she’s earned a victory lap.

Rhiannan Iffland of Australia prepares to dive from the 21 meter platform in Raouche during the final competition day of the fifth stop of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in Beirut, Lebanon on July 14, 2019.

“That wasn’t really running through my mind, the overall series win, but to finish it at the penultimate stop is really special. I came in here this weekend knowing that I’d have to be extra mentally strong and that was my game plan, to dive like I have been diving the rest of the year.”

Even though the first place trophy is all but locked up in her trophy case back home in Newcastle, New South Wales, Rhiannan still has a chance to attain the perfect season with another win at Bilbao on September 14th.

Rhiannan Iffland of Australia poses for a portrait in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on August 2, 2019.

“Halfway through, I started to think about a clean sweep, an undefeated year and that’s now the goal, especially after coming here and achieving this. I think it’s looking pretty good so I’m going to train really hard in the upcoming weeks to Bilbao.”

Rhiannan Iffland dives from the 21 metre platform on Stari Most during the first competition day of the sixth stop of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina on August 23, 2019.

If you’d like to learn more about Rhiannan’s proud heritage as a native Australian, check out her Rainbow Dive documentary set in the outback.

To follow along with the career and training of such a dominant champion, check out Rhiannan’s social media.